For anyone who didn’t click on the last link in my post about the Space Station, it went to the wikipedia entry on April Fool’s day.
Now, I know that April Fool’s is not everyone’s favorite holiday, but I have always enjoyed a good prank. My favorite ones are the slow, dawning awareness ones. But, with the number of people posting today about how they don’t like April Fool’s day, I thought I would post my rules for what makes a good prank.
1. It doesn’t scare anyone.
2. It doesn’t raise false hopes.
3. It doesn’t hurt.
4. You have to fess up.
An example of #1 that someone I know actually pulled. He faked his own death so that his girlfriend would come in to find him. That is seriously, seriously twisted. Not funny. Not even a little funny.
#2. Calling someone to tell them their novel was going to be published. That would be evil.
#3. Hand buzzers and Kick Me signs. Physical and emotional pain are right out.
#4. Oh come on… if I let you believe that I was really going into space and you told other people, that would just be mean.
Do I get serious enjoyment from pulling the wool over your eyes until you get it? Yes, yes I do. I am twelve years old. However, I also enjoy it when you get me, too. A beautifully crafted prank can be as lovely as a beautifully crafted story, or at least for me it is. I told you a story and just for a moment, my fantasy existed in the real world.
The prank that I wish were real today? Virgle. I wish, oh how I wish, that we were really going to Mars.
So I tried to apply for Virgle. This is what I got:
Well, you’re distressingly normal and could conceivably adjust to life as a deep space pioneer, though we recommend instead that you leave the Mars missions to the serious whack jobs who scored over 130 and instead finish year 3 of law school, tuck your toddler into bed, design Web 2.0 applications, run for Congress or do whatever other normal, healthy, middle-of-the-road thing you’re currently doing with your normal, healthy, middle-of-the-road life.
I suppose that’s…good?
That’s what I got, too.
Yeah, when I saw Virgle, I wished I could have signed up.
I love april fool’s for the spoofs, and don’t care if anyone’s momentarily taken in. Although I did send someone directly to Virgle’s Open Source Planet page, and for a moment my friend was taken in.
Someday… I signed up, even though I knew it wasn’t real, because of how much I wished it was.
I’m distracted most of the time so I’m easy to catch. Sides, the last couple weeks have conditioned me (and probably many) that Mary says “good news” and congrats pops out of my mouth. I did learn a couple o valuable lessons: 1) always read the whole post before commenting the first time; 2) do follow the links, they are probably provided for a reason.
It was a good gag, though, probably my favourite from yesterday. Well played.
I couldn’t quite tell if you believed it or not.
One of the most interesting things about this was realizing how few people follow links. I’ll feel less pressured to link to everything except as a reciprocal thing.
Even with all the pranks going on yesterday I wasn’t sure about Virgle until today. I could see those two companies really trying to do that. Here’s to dreaming.
I could see them trying to do it too, but not by 2014.